Wire-stretcher.



G. F. HURD.

WIRE STRETGHER.

APPLIGATION FILED mums, 1912.

Patnted June 24, 1913.

UNTITED STATES PATENT orrrcn CHARLES F. HURD, OF RENO, NEVADA.

WIRE-STRETCHER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES F. HURD, citizenof the United States, residing at Reno, in the county of Vashoe andState of Nevada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWire-Stretchers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to wire stretchers, and has for its objectto provide a strong and durable stretcher of simple structure the partsof which are so arranged that they may be easily and readily operatedduring the process of stretching a wire.

Vith the above object in view the stretcher includes a head adapted tobe placed against the side of a post and to which is attached a guidearm. Holding pawls of peculiar form are pivoted upon the head and haveparts that engage and overlap each other to hold the wire between them.A two part lever is fulcrumed to the head and is adapted to grip thewire as it is being stretched and pulled between the holding pawls. Thislever is of peculiar configuration, the object being to render itpossible to fulcrum the lever in close proximity to the work engagingside of the head.

A still further object of the invention is generally to improve thisclass of devices so as to render them more useful and commerciallydesirable.

Further objects and advantages will appear in the following description,it being understood that various changes in form, proportions and minordetails of construction may be made within the scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claim.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the wire stretcher applied to a post withparts broken away; Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views of parts ofthe wire stretcher disconnected from each other.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawingby the same reference characters.

The wire stretcher includes a head 1 which is provided at one side witha series of teeth 2. The side that bears the teeth 2 is adapted to beapplied to the side of a post during the operation of stretching a wire,as illustrated in Fig. l of the drawing. An

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. March 28, 1912.

pawl 5.

Patented June 24,1913.

Serial No. 686,729.

arm 3 is attached to the head 1 and is adapted to extend along the wirewhich is being stretched and is provided with a loop 4 through which thewire passes. Holding pawls 5 and 6 are pivoted upon the head 1 and areprovided with roughened work engaging surfaces 7 and 8 respectively. Thepawl 6 is provided with an arm 9. An arm 10 is carried by the head 1 anda coiled spring 11 is attached at one end to the arm 10 and at its otherend to the arm 9. This spring is under tension with a tendency to drawthe free end. portion of the arm 9 toward the arm 10. The pawl 5 isprovided with spaced guide fingers 12 between which the wire that isbeing stretched is passed. The pawl 5 is provided upon its upper andlower sides with spaced lugs 13. These lugs are arranged in pairs and apair is located each side of the pawl. The pawl 6 is provided at itsupper and lower sides with fingers 14. These fingers project through thespaces between the members of the pairs of lugs 13 and consequently thework end portion of the pawl 5 is received between the fingers 14.

A lever 15 is fulcrumed upon the head 1 and has end portions disposed atan angle to each other. This lever is provided with a shoulder 16 and aflange 17 projecting from said shoulder. A handle 18 is fulcrumed uponthe lever 15 and is provided with a roughened end 19 which is adapted tocooperate with the shoulder 16 in gripping a wire when it is beingstretched.

In operation the side of the head 1 having the teeth 2 is applied to theside of a post and the wire to be stretched is passed through the loop 4and then the pawl 6 is turned so that the fingers 14 are moved out ofthe spaces between the lugs 13 upon the The wire is then laid betweenthe pawls 6 and 5 and the pawl G is released so that the fingers 14 willmove into the spaces between the .lugs 13 and thus the wire is grippedbetween the surfaces 7 and S of the said lugs. It is of course to beunderstood that the pawl 6 is swung or turned under the influence of thespring 11 when the said pawls grip the wire. The handle 18 is thenturned upon its pivotal connection with the lever 15 and the wire islaid against the shoulder 16 and under the flange 17.

It is obvious that by turning the handle 18 upon the lever 15 the wirewill be gripped between the roughened end 19 and the shoulder 16. Thenby swinging the lever and handle in a direction away from the arm 3 thewire will be drawn between the pawls 5 and 6. 11611 the lever 15 hasbeen swung to the limit of its swinging movement in a direction awayfrom the arm 3, it is swung back toward the said arm and at the sametime the handle 18 is swung upon the lever which releases the wire, butin the meantime the pawls 5 and 6 hold the same. Thus the lever isbrought back toward the said pawls and when it is swung away -from thepawls it grips the wire at a point nearer the pawls and the wire isagain moved between the pawls as the lever is swung away from the same.This operation is repeated until the wire is suiiiciently stretched. Itwill therefore be seen that during the operation of stretching a wirethe fingers 1 carried by the pawl 6 and the guides 12 carried by thepawl 5 will retain the wire between the pawls and at the same time themovement of the fingers 14 through the spaces between the lugs 13 andagainst the said lugs will cause the work engaging ends of the pawls 5and 6 to move simulta neously away from and toward each other as thewire is released and gripped.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A wire stretcher comprising a head, pawls pivoted on the head, resilientmeans for holding the pawls toward each other, one of the pawls havingat its opposite sides spaced lugs, the other pawl having at its oppositesides fingers which project through the spaces between the lugs, one ofthe pawls having at its edge fingers located in the vicinity of? theupper and lower sides of the pawl, said fingers extending bevond theinner end of the pawl opposite to the pawl to which they are attached.

In testimony whereof I atliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES F. HURD. [1 s] lVitnesses Geo. M. Donation, F. D. BALE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

